• Overtime is due to persons primarily performing manual labor               
               
• Overtime is not due to supervisors and managers regularly supervising or managing two or more full-time persons if they are paid twice minimum wage               
• Overtime is not likely to be due to an employee who has a primarily intellectual profession in which they make independent decisions and use independent discretion               
• California overtime is based upon the daily work day, but also comes into effect if an employee works more than 40 hours in a week. For example, an employee who works 7.5 hours six days a week is entitled to 2.5 hours of overtime pay for the week               
• Employers must pay double time if the employee works more than 12 hours in a day         

THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS ARE GENERALLY ENTITLED TO OVERTIME PAY:

Employees performing assembly work, automotive repair technicians, bookkeepers and employees in accounts receivable and collectible, clerical workers, collectors, construction workers, cooks, cosmetic workers, data entry, day care workers, drivers, dry cleaning pressers, farm workers, film crews, fishers, grocery workers, hair stylists, janitors, laborers, maintenance workers, manufacturing workers, messengers, massage therapists, nurses, packers, personal assistants, porters, retail workers, security officers, sewers, social workers with are not licensed, strippers, ticket agents, wait staff, and warehouse workers

THE FOLLOWING JOBS MAY OR MAY NOT BE POSITIONS ENTITLED TO OVERTIME; IT IS BEST TO CONSULT WITH AN EXPERIENCED OVERTIME ATTORNEY REGARDING THE FACTUAL SPECIFICS OF THE JOB:

Broadcasters, computer programmers, dancers, lab technicians (consult a labor lawyer but if you are a scientist with an advanced degree conducting your own ideas of experiments you probably are not) outside sales, persons with advanced degrees, property managers, theater performers, writers

               
• Union Contracts may specify groups of workers are entitled to overtime if they are not entitled to overtime by law. The union contract creates the employees' rights to overtime in these situations               
           

THE FOLLOWING JOBS ARE USUALLY NOT ENTITILED TO OVERTIME:

Artists, certified accounting professionals, doctors, executives, lawyers, managers, theatrical personnel such as A-list actors

                           

California farm workers are now entitled to overtime for every hour they work past 8 hours in a day. For example, if a farm worker works a 9 hour day they are owed one hour of overtime. Farm workers who work only 34 hours in a week are still entitled to 6 hours of overtime if two of their work days were 11 hour days.

The previous law that required farm workers to work 60 hours a week in order to get overtime was repealed in September of 2016! Accordingly, double time pay for farm workers goes into effect after they work 12 hours in a day.

Farm workers who are paid piece rates are also entitled to overtime based upon their piece rates which must be minimum wage or higher. It is best to consult with an experienced overtime lawyer to determine if you are properly paid piece rates and they are properly reflected on your pay stubs. Failure to properly reflect piece rate pay leads to paystub violations which entitle employees to penalties for each wrong paystub.

Like other California employees, farm workers are considered nonexempt and are entitled to overtime if they do not regularly manage 2 or more full-time employees more than 50% of the time and earn twice minimum wage for every hour they work. Farm workers such as pickers, egg handlers, tractor drivers, loaders, packers, seed sorters, and feeders are usually entitled to overtime. Seed engineers may not be entitled to overtime if they have an advanced degree and are primarily involved in genetic experimentation they conduct.

Foremen who supervise a crew of 5 full-time farm workers and spend a lot of time hiring, firing, supervising, or using independent discretion are not entitled to overtime if they earn twice minimum wage. Technically, supervisors of two or more full-time employees who spend more than half their time supervising are exempt if they earn twice minimum wage.

We have represented many supervisors who either do not earn twice minimum wage, do not regularly supervise two or more full-time employees, or do not regularly use independent discretion to do their jobs. If you fall into those categories you may be entitled to overtime pay.